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Bloomberg
A Colombian pilots union voted in favour of a strike at Avianca Holdings SA, which the company argues is illegal.
The ACDAC union says that its members include about 700 pilots that work for the company and won’t fly during the strike—slightly more than half of Avianca’s pilots. Avianca said Colombian laws forbid those offering essential services from striking, and it will take disciplinary action if it starts, according to an emailed statement.
The strike may start as soon as September 20 and last for as long as 60 days, the union said. Labour negotiations were called off after 20 days of talks that failed to reach an agreement, with the union alleging “grave discrimination†of Colombian pilots relative to other regions.
“It’s not Avianca’s call to judge the strike, that’s up to the Transport Ministry,†union president Jaime Hernandez, said. “We regret that passengers and their travel plans will be affected .†Avianca said it had made over 20 proposals to increase benefits for Colombian pilots during the negotiations, before the pilots “unilaterally ended†the talks.
Avianca reached an agreement with the another association earlier that represents about half of its pilots, but it hasn’t yet reached an agreement with ACDAC since 2013.